Leaving an imprint: Gadsden children learn about cave painting (photos)

GADSDEN, Alabama -- The ingredients were familiar to any child - dirt, clay and imagination.

The Gadsden Museum of Art today staged an exhibition in cave painting - minus the cave. Instead, the group of children who took part left their handprints and designs on sheets of paper spread over a table, even as their hands blackened with grit much like some ancient ancestors.

Rachel Wilson, 6, of Southside, came and made a picture of a horse. Her mother Rebecca said she liked the hands-on activity.

"It's important because it's something she hasn't had many opportunities to do," she said.

The class took place at the Gadsden Public Library, and was modeled on the Rouffignac cave in France, where researchers believe children left prehistoric paintings about 13,000 years ago. Art instructor Hilary Blackwood said the dirt came from her yard near Sardis, sifted and mixed with shortening to add some texture.

"It's a way to introduce them to the joy of creating," she said. "It's a very simple act, like leaving an impression on a wall."

Nicole Tudor, who coordinated the event, said the class is one of several ways the museum engages children.

"It's important that they have art activities in the community, because it's not in all schools, and a lot of the children don't have art classes," she said.